Liquid-heating furnace.



N0. 69l,866. Patnted Jan. 28, 1902. D. LAIRD. LIQUID HEATING FURNACE.

A lication filed Sept. 24, 1901.;

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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N0. 69l,866. Patented Jan. 28, I902.

D. LAIRD.

LIQUID HEATING FURNACE.

(Application filed Sept. 24, 1901.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID .LA IRD, OF FOBFAR, SCOTLAND.

LIQUID-HEATING FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691,866, dated January 28, 1902.

Application filed September 24, 1901. Serial No. 76,329. (No model.) 7

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID LAIRD, engineer and metallurgist, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Forfar, in the county of Forfar, Scotland, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Furnace for Heating, Evaporating, or Concentrating Infusions, Solutions, and Liquids, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a furnace for heating, evaporating, or concentrating infusions, solutions, and liquids generally, and relates particularly to the type of furnace in which a water-bath is employed.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the improved furnace. Fig. 2 is a plan. Fig. 3 is a cross-section. Fig. 4 is a detailview.

In an evaporating-furnace constructed in accordance with my invention I employ the usual or a suitable water bath or tank a. The water-bath a rests upon a slab b, of fire-clay or other refractory material, which forms a crown to an inclined furnace-flue or flamebed 0, constructed in the lower fire-clay portion (1. The tank 0t is also surrounded by fire-clay slabs e, the whole being incased by an envelop f, of thin sheet-steel, and bound together by hoops g.

Resting on the top of the tank a and fireclay casing e is a tray it, having a number of circular recesses i to receive the metallic or other saucers containing the solution, infusion, or liquid to be concentrated or evaporated. In Figsrl to 3 the tray h is provided with an internal ledge j, fitting closely inside the tank or water-bath a to assist in preventing the escape of steam. A modification of this arrangement is shown in Fig. 4, in which the ledge j sits within a gutter 70, formed on the water-tank a. The gutter 7t, being filled with water, provides an eflicient seal against the escape of steam'from the tank. Steam from the tank 0t is condensed by the coil Z,

the water of condensation returning to the tank. To maintain the water-level within the tank, a drip-cock m is provided, the feedwater passing through the pipe at to the tank a, the inner pipe 0 carrying off the excess water and maintaining a constant level within the water-tank a.

For heating the evaporating-furnace I employ a burner generating a flame of liquid hydrocarbon and air under pressure, or it might be hydrogen gas and air. The burner consists of a combustion-cha1nber p, an oil or liquid-hydrocarbon drip-pipe q, supplied with oil from any suitable source, and an air-blast pipe r, through which passes air under pressure from any suitable compressing or blowing device. Beneath the fire-clay crown b are a number of deflecting-ribs s, by means of which the flame and hot gases are deflected so as to bring them to bear over the entire area of the fire-clay crown b on their way to the fines t t and chimney u, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. The bottom of the flame-bed farthest from the burner is gradually inclined toward the crown b, so as to concentrate the hot gases as the heat thereof diminishes, and thus maintain the equality of temperature of the fire-clay crownb as much as possible through its entire area.

I declare that what I claim is- In a furnace of the class described, the combination with the inclined bottom and walls, of a fire-clay crown above said bottom and encircled by said walls, a water bath or receptacle seated on said crown, a suitable cover for said receptacle, and an oil-burner discharging into the space between said bottom and crown, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID LAIRD.

Witnesses i JOSHUA ENTWISLE, RICHARD IBBERSON. 

